Washington Post: “Japan is a Trumpian paradise of low immigration rates. It’s also a dying country.”

Japan is facing a population crisis, writes political commenter Francisco Toro, and is a stark example of what happens when a country heavily reduces or limits immigration. The country has an aging population where native-born people’s death rates outnumber births, a shortage of new workers along with slow economic growth, and approximately eight million vacant houses.

Although the country’s politicians have historically opposed higher rates of immigration, the government has recently made more work permits available to foreign workers. Even so, the government forces most temporary foreign workers to frequently apply for extensions, prevents many from bringing their families, and in general has limited efforts to welcome and integrate them into society. “Japan proves that the choice between homogeneity and diversity is real,” Toro writes. “It’s just that homogeneity leads to decline, while diversity offers at least a chance of ongoing vitality and prosperity.”

Serena at the US Open 2019

I made it out to Flushing Meadows this week to see the incredible Serena Williams as she fights for her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie Margaret Court’s record. In this quarterfinals match, her 100th US Open match win, Serena defeated Qiang Wang 6-1, 6-0. “It feels good,” Williams told ESPN after the match. “It feels like, ‘OK, this is what I’ve been training for.” Asked if she is upping the intimidation factor this year for her opponents, she said in the press conference afterwards: "I’ve always been the person that goes out there and roars, and screams, and complains, and cries, and fights. I’m extremely passionate about what I do." She’s also extremely too fast for my camera. Go Serena!

The Washington Post: “Yogurt Billionaire’s Solution to World Refugee Crisis: Hire Them”

Hamdi Ulukaya, the Turkish immigrant who founded Chobani, the best-selling yogurt brand in the United States, argues that the best way to help refugees is to provide them employment. “The number one thing is hiring, a job,” he said in an interview in Bogota, where he met with business leaders and migrants to discuss the humanitarian and economic crisis in Venezuela that has led to millions of refugees fleeing their home country. “For a refugee, it’s day and night. That’s the point at which they find their life can continue.”

The UN Refugee Agency estimates that the total number of forcibly displaced individuals, including refugees and other migrants, has risen nearly seventy percent over the past ten years to approximately 71 million. Ulukaya, whose net worth is estimated at $1.34 billion, employs refugees at his US plants and has pledged a large portion of his fortune to the charity he founded, Tent Partnership for Refugees. He encourages other business leaders to help solve the global refugee crisis. “It’s good for the companies to be a part of this,” he said in the Washington Post. “Because people five years or 10 years from now are going to question ‘What did you do about this? Why were you not part of this?’”

Minimalism/Maximalism at FIT

The Fashion Institute of Technology’s Minimalism/Maximalism exhibit  examines the interplay between minimalist and maximalist aesthetics throughout history. While some styles are decidedly simple in color and design, other items openly celebrate extravagance and spectacle. Spanning from the eighteenth century to the present, the exhibit features garments and accessories from “alternating periods of excess and restraint,” which connect to larger social and economic trends of their times.

Minimalism/Maximalism will be on view through November 16, 2019 at FIT’s Fashion & Textile History Gallery on the corner of 28th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan.